All in the Buildup
by rosehustle1
Summary: Rumpel is courting Lacey in order to eventually bring Belle back.


Rumple rolled over to the left side of the bed and wrapped his arms around the woman that had been driving him mad for the last five days. She brought her hands up and held on to his arms. She turned over to face him, the movement causing the sheet to fall to her waist, revealing her supple breasts.  
"You look happy." She said as she traced a finger down his chest and leaned in to kiss his collar bone. He grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth in a kiss.  
"I am very happy, Lovely." (He decided that the endearment he used for Belle, Sweetheart, did not suit Lacey at all)

He had come to the conclusion five days ago, that he would court Lacey as he should have courted Belle all those centuries ago, before he had stupidly pushed her out of his castle. At first, Lacey seemed resistant to his advances. He would send her a single, coral-colored rose, every day, to her small apartment near the docks (he wasn't thrilled with her new living arrangements, but Lacey didn't love the library like Belle had). A small card was attached to each rose, telling her one thing about himself (some mundane such as his favorite food and some provocative, such as his favorite way to kiss a woman and where) and then asking if she would like to have dinner. This little seduction had gone on for five days without any word on her end. Rumple was getting impatient and a bit disheartened that his advances were all for naught until he received an envelope at his pawn shop. The note was written in a beautiful cursive style that he was surprised this different version of Belle was able to retain.

Dear dark, handsome, and brooding,  
I enjoyed the roses. Beautiful. I looked it up and found that coral-colored roses symbolize a desire to go from friendship to something more. But I never really pegged, you and me as friends. You don't look at me from across the diner with friendly intentions. I've seen the way your eyes dilate when I cross my legs at the bar. I see how you try to hide the little intake of breath you make when I throw my head back in laughter, exposing my neck to the world. I sense you thoroughly examining every curvature and plane of my body when I lean against the car that I share with Ruby. No, we aren't friends. But I would like to be more. Dinner at your place tonight. I'll wear something red. Red does mean passion after all.  
-Lacey

He had smirked for the rest of the day after that. He picked up some Merlot, put together some stuffed grilled chicken and roasted asparagus with spicy red sauce, and for the grand finale, chocolate truffle cake for dessert. She arrived at his home at 7pm, dressed as promised, in a deep red-laced dress that ended at her thigh. The v-neck front allowed her cleavage to be shown in a way that made his eyes cross. Her hair had been done up in a messy bun with a few tendrils falling down her face. She looked sexy and adoringly beautiful all at once, and the image was taken over-the-top when she gave him that blissful Belle-like smile. Yeah, his self-control broke.

One minute she was in the foyer smiling devilishly and the next he had her pinned to the sofa his hands running up and down her back while his mouth plundered hers in a frenzy. Needless to say, the dinner was left untouched.

He took her hard and fast on the sofa (him half dressed and she only in her scrap of lace strapless bra). Round two found them on the floor with her on top riding him deliciously slowly all while groaning his name (Rum, he told her to call him). Round three had ended up on the dining room table. The plates moved about haphazardly to make room. The wine spilling over the side as he took her from behind. When they both came he fell in to the chair and pulled her into his lap. She giggled at his messy hair (sex hair she called it and he laughed at the smudge of chocolate truffle that ended up on her breast which he immediately licked up and then playfully bit) and kissed him gently.

The fourth round ended up in a proper bed that was no longer very proper considering what they had just done. Lacey grinned at him as she crawled her way back up the blanket. He pulled the pins from her hair and finally ran his hands through. Lacey was a ferocious lover and enjoyed him as much as he enjoyed her. However, Belle had been quite passionate as well with a bit more vulnerability. He couldn't figure out which he wanted more until she lay her head on his chest and let out a contented sigh.

"I like this...being like this with you."  
He smiled and kissed the top of her head.  
"Me too, Lovely."  
She trailed a finger across his chest and kissed his nipple.  
"I think I'll sleep well tonight." She said softly.  
"Me too." He said with sincerity as he finally closed his eyes. He realized then, that his Belle was still there. She existed underneath the red-lipped grins and throaty laughs, underneath the filthy words whispered in his ears, and underneath the desperate embraces in the dark of his bedroom. Lacey was Belle just a bit more uninhibited but she was his Sweetheart nonetheless.  
"Sleep well, Sweetheart." 


End file.
